34 Weeks to Go

For those who are not in the know I can officially announce myself pregnant, due around December 1.  I’m almost 6 weeks along now and it’s all a little bit surreal.  So far I don’t have many symptoms and feel pretty much normal if it wasn’t for this nagging feeling in my mind telling me that I’m having a baby.  34 weeks to go seems like nothing, and if it’s anything like the last year it’ll come around before I know it.

I decided to give the blog a little revamp to celebrate.  I like the title “Against the Tide” because it always feels that way whenever I think about what I want to do with my children.  Here’s a little breakdown of the things we both aim to achieve with our baby.

• Cloth diapers – Not just for the environmental benefits but also for the baby.  It’s now known that all those chemicals and plastics in disposables are absorbed right into the skin causing all sorts of problems like rash and eczema.  Plus you can save thousands of pounds.
• Breast feeding – It’s been on the radio a lot recently about babies who are breastfed do not gain as much weight as formula babies and some women are even discouraged from breastfeeding.  This makes me so sick that such a natural thing could possibly be considered not the best thing for babies.  Formula was never intended to replace breastfeeding (and usually states so on the package) and the last thing I want is a lot of additives and chemicals pumped into my infant.
• Baby slings/carriers – Surprisingly this is one of the things everyone seems to disagree with.  I personally hate baby prams/buggies/strollers.  They get in the way of everything, are horridly expensive, and half the time I never see anyone even in them.  I love the idea of keeping a newborn close by having her in a sling, and these modern baby backpacks distribute the weight so evenly that even heavy toddlers can be carried.
• Second-hand clothes – Everytime I go into a charity shop there are loads of baby clothes, most haven’t even been worn.  People go absolutely nuts when buying clothes and they grow so fast it’s not worth spending loads of money on a wardrobe.  Mostly I see clothes as a way of complimenting the baby knits that I plan to make.  As long as they are warm I do not care what other people think of my child or me as a parent.
• Homeschooling – Obviously not a big issue until they get older but everyone seems to disagree with this and for all the same really asinine reasons.  I could practically write a book why I think homeschooling is a very good option for many (but not necessarily all) children, the main point being that school discourages creativity and makes learning a chore.  And the time that I’ve spent learning at home I think I learned more than I ever did in school, not to mention the bizarre social situations an institution like that provides.
• Home birth – This is the trickiest one for me.  I would love to have a home birth, I think hospitals are not only unpleasant but are actually harmful for babies.  I don’t like the fact that they take the newborn away from the mother (sometimes interfering with their ability to breastfeed) but that the strange environment is more traumatic for the baby.  It is not recommended for first-time mothers to give birth at home, but man if I could be sure that I won’t have a medical emergency during the birth this would be my only option.

All of these points go against common parenting, but we would never just do something for the sake of being different, we both love to research methods that are both healthy and make sense.  We have the unique opportunity of having both parents at home all the time with children and want to make the best of it.  That may mean re-evaluating our methods to double check what we’re doing is right.  We want to make sure our child grows up healthy and, most importantly, happy, free from consumer culture, but full of love and the ability to explore and grow.  If my way of thinking goes against the tide then I never want to go out to sea.